Gambling charge out of pizza joint leveled against Manchester father of accused drug dealer

By PAT GROSSMITHNew Hampshire Union Leader

MANCHESTER - The father of a man accused of operating a multi-million dollar drug ring with Canadian ties was arrested on a felony charge accusing him of paying out on poker machines operated at a West Side pizzeria.

He is accused of managing, supervising, directing or owning all or part of a business - Amory House of Pizza - when he paid patrons who accumulated points on electronic video poker machines they played there...Nakos is free on $3,000 personal recognizance bail, with a probable cause hearing set for Aug. 28.

His son, Alkis Nakos, 35, of Arah Street, and Kosmas Koustas, 35, of Hooksett, are accused of operating the New Hampshire branch of a North American drug ring that smuggled an estimated 100 to 200 pounds of marijuana and other illicit drugs each week...According to documents on file in U.S. District Court in Concord, no pizzas ever came out of the Amory Street pizzeria in the last year or so, when undercover drug investigators had it under surveillance...What patrons could buy, according to investigators, were MDMA, commonly known as “Molly,” the prescription drug Viagra and Klonopin, an anti-anxiety medication.

An informant told investigators he collected $250,000 to $300,000 in drug proceeds from the Amory Street business that Alkis Nakos co-owned with his father, according to court records...The business had three poker machines, all licensed by the city at an annual cost of $2,000 per machine, according to the Office of the City Clerk, which is responsible for issuing the licenses.

The machines are supposed to be for entertainment only, not gambling...pgrossmith@unionleader.com..